


a series of queries

by gratefulallegiance



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Fluff, I don’t know what else to tag but it’s a serious fic I swear, Kind of angsty?, M/M, i haven’t read it since i wrote it and at this point i’m too afraid to, i referenced their past a bit i think, rated teen because they smooch like. once
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-09
Updated: 2018-07-09
Packaged: 2019-06-07 23:08:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,210
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15230004
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gratefulallegiance/pseuds/gratefulallegiance
Summary: What are we? — Such a simple question that could be interpreted in a vast variety of ways, if only it were asked.





	a series of queries

**Author's Note:**

  * For [senalovemail](https://archiveofourown.org/users/senalovemail/gifts).



"Hey, Ou-sama." He mumbles, his simplistic greeting falling on the deaf ears of the smaller third year. Leo was sprawled out on the floor, laid on his stomach as he swung his legs back and forth.

Back and forth. Back and forth. Izumi admits that the looping pendulum could also be used to describe their.. whatever it was. He sighs, his eyebrows knitting together in a perfectly practiced frown as he leans forward, closer to Leo. Closer. He wanted that, he supposed. Proximity was at times the only comfort Izumi had.

“Oi." He tries again, poking Leo in the swirl of curls that formed a crown atop his head. Leo continued to compose, seemingly oblivious to Sena's actions. The cynical teen sighed again. He needed to know. He needed an answer. This, whatever it was, was not helping. The thoughts in his mind had been swirling around, mixing and assimilating into something ugly. Something scary.

Love?

No.

Maybe.

No, it was love. He was in love. He had been for a while. Izumi wasn't sure when he had started to feel warmer around Leo, it had occurred slowly, like a trickling stream, until Izumi had noticed the way that Leo's eyes lit up when he was truly happy, and the aura of confidence he radiated on stage with his knights surrounding him. The floodgates had been opened, and Izumi was drowning. He was like a planet, stuck in orbit around the sun. Leo was a blinding light, and Izumi was a rabbit caught in the headlights.

Izumi felt his mood begin to sour even further. He wanted Leo to be his sun, and hearing the words 'I love you!' from him had only served to increase this desire tenfold. It had become increasingly difficult to convince himself that Leo did not mean anything by those three words. Izumi wanted to hold Leo in his arms, to wake up on a crisp autumn morning and be able to turn over in his bed to find the figure of his King, with the bright and early rays of the warm sun filtering in through the window, highlighting Leo's face at just the right angles.

Obviously it would never truly happen like that, the reality would be something much less romantic, with Leo most likely kicking Izumi out of the bed in the early hours of the morning as he took up the bed space, as well as the bed sheets. Izumi was allowed to dream, though.

"Hey." Izumi started, his voice far softer than he was intending. This tone was personal, it was a tone even he was surprised to hear. Especially from himself. The past year or two had served to sever him further from the remnants of the older Izumi Sena that had been formed around their second year. Innocent friendships had bloomed and created a dream that was far too unattainable without the sacrifice of someone dear. It didn't show up much anymore, aside from the odd occasion around certain individuals that he trusted. It was the kind of tone that implied that what was about to said meant something to him, an underlying, all-too-personal message Izumi was certain Leo wouldn't even pick up on due to his current fixation on the sheets of paper sprawled out in front of him. Well, perhaps he would.

That was the odd thing with Leo Tsukinaga, it was impossible to tell whether something was going to fly over his head entirely or be analysed down to the exact syllable. He was a wildcard, labeled as an unpredictable disaster by many. That was just it, though. He was odd. Precariously odd. Some may have even called the leader of Knights insane, a 'Fallen King'. Which was not true - Leo may have returned different from his absence from school, but that was to be expected. He had been unfairly labelled 'broken' by his creators and thrown aside along with the other fallen soldiers that had ceased to exist. Leo Tsukinaga had been misshapen, and perhaps the old version of himself had even disappeared at some point. But he had come back. It had taken time, as most wounds do, for him to heal, but he had been reformed and remodelled by a pair of hands that were not Izumi's own. He had been cast out of the narrative, which may have been the product of his own foolish desires that only furthered Leo's pain in the first place. That was something Izumi would always feel a soft tug of guilt for whenever he was reminded of what had occurred, of how he had aided the destruction of his own companion. No, of his King. He had committed treason, but with no Majesty around to behead him, he had been left suspended in the dark with his festering feelings of uselessness.

Izumi stared at his friend, contemplating all the possible ways he could ruin this. Ruin himself. Ruin Leo again. Ruin what they'd finally managed to re-establish between the two of them. He shook his doubts off, suddenly hearing a small Naru-like voice in the back of his mind reminding him to 'just go for it!', and so. Izumi Sena began to talk.

"What are we, Ou-sama." He finally whispers, relaxing down beside the flighty third year and choosing to ignore the fact that he was sitting on a bacteria-infested surface for the time being - if Leo could manage it, he could suffer through it for a few minutes in favour of being closer.

Leo, as expected, was completely oblivious to the emotive querie, choosing instead to begin softly humming the melody of his latest work as he put the top of the pen to his lips, an expression of complete, serious concentration on his face. Izumi softens at this, and resists the urge to cup his face in his hands and press his lips to Leo's own. Izumi internally winced at this, now was certainly not the time.

'Well, if not now, when will it ever be the time?' His impulsive thought process countered - leaving the taller boy even more flustered than he was initially, a small noise of complaint escaping his lips.

This, for some astounding reason unknown to all but the Omnipotent Gods of the universe, was what caught Leo's attention.

"Ah! Sena, sorry. Didn't notice you there! Are you okay? You look.. red.? Did you catch something?" Leo sat up, various joints cracking as he moved from his stationary position. He stared at Izumi, his face full of concern. Izumi didn't deserve this. He didn't deserve him. He didn't deserve any of this, and yet, here he was. Still caring for Izumi, still sticking around him.

"I'm fine, you idiot. Worry about yourself. How long were you sat there?" Izumi managed, somehow able to muster up a half-assed glare that he also threw in Leo's direction, "You're going to hurt your back if you carry on like this - sit at a desk like a normal person."

"But Sena~ that ruins all the fun. Doesn't sitting on the floor make you feel more at home? I'm always comfier on the floor, not to mention the amount of inspiration!" Leo's tone suddenly slipped out of his usually loud tone into something more sincere, "Mmm, you should join me down here more often, Sena. Having you as company is always a delight - even if i didn't notice you at first!"

Another awkward silence leaves Izumi alone with his thoughts long enough for his unanswered questions to become a pressing issue in his mind again. He sighs as his eyes narrow slightly, he can feel himself preparing for the worst.

"What are we?"

The words spill from his lips like a soft breeze, barely making any headway in comparison to the jovial melody that Leo belted out at most points of the day. The tone used to be a mock version of Leo's own feelings, a play on the whirlwind of thoughts that had dragged Leo away from him. However, Izumi was sure that the boy in front of him had managed to now believe that he, himself, was happy, and for that - Izumi could not have been happier. Leo's happiness was often his happiness, after all. It was a different kind of love from the emotions that sparked in Izumi around Yuu-kun, and was the kind of love that made him want more. But that kind of love was dangerous, and he was not sure he was prepared to deal with the potential consequences if anything did happen between them. Would their friendship be able to make it through a second time? Izumi was selfish, but he was not selfish enough to threaten everything that they worked so hard to rebuild, just to set it alight in the heat of love and build a wall between them out of the ashes of their downfall.

Izumi's internal anxious monologue was immediately cut off once he noticed the pair of emerald eyes fixated on him. There was a calculating look in Leo's eyes, one that spoke of distance and uncertainty. Well, at least Izumi could be certain that he was not the only one that felt unsure about this.

Leo finally averted his gaze, raising his pen up to his lip as his eyebrows pinched together in a frown, "Don't surprise me like that! I need to give you an answer don't I? Right, right~ I suppose we're whatever you want us to be.”

The answer was mostly straight to the point, and for a moment, Izumi no longer knew where to put himself. He had expected him to beat around the bush, at least. Izumi allowed himself to smile, "What am I supposed to make of that? 'Whatever I want us to be?' Are you trying to force me into making a decision for us both? I came to you because I wanted your input, you idiot." The tone was soft, and held no real threat within the insult.

"Hahaha, perhaps! Hmm~ I really do love you though, Sena. Ah. Don't look at me like that. I really mean it, I swear!" Izumi wasn't sure when Leo had sat up with his legs crossed, but now he was staring him more or less straight in the eye. Without their legs to put a height difference between them, the two were fairly equal. The atmosphere around Leo shifted when his eyes took on a mischievous glint, letting out a breath of a giggle as he leaned in closer to Izumi, using his hands as support to stop him from toppling into him, "Will you let me prove it to you?"

Izumi's heart skipped a beat. He did not hesitate with his response more than was necessary, for his logic had been thrown out of the window as soon as Leo had gained proximity. He rolled his eyes, sandwiching Leo's face between his hands and pressing their lips together before Leo could react. The kiss was short and sweet, holding no real feelings to it. When Izumi leaned back, he did not expect to meet an all-too-red Leo, who looked at Izumi like he'd just committed the worst crime imaginable.

"Seenaa!! I was being all cool! Why did you kiss me!? That's not what I had planned at all. Ahh, you suck!" Leo whined, pouting as he buried his face in Izumi's lap. He mumbled more insults from his safe place.

“Maybe next time don't take so long to make the first move, then. I might get the wrong idea and go chasing after some other pretty girl instead of you." Izumi sighs softly as he stares back down at the figure resting on him, raising his hand just enough to thread his fingers through Leo's unruly hair.

He felt the vibrations of Leo’s voice as he laughed, lifting his head up just enough for his words to be distinguishable, "Liar! I guess if that ever happened though I'd have to try and steal you back? Oh! Maybe you'd like that, you're always complaining that my hair is too long anyway. I'd make a pretty nice girl, don't cha think?"

Izumi felt his skin prickle as he blushed, and he unceremoniously shoved Leo's head back into his lap, "Don't you dare!" He retorted, which only caused Leo to laugh harder to the point where he curled in on himself, rolling onto his back where he could look up Izumi. His expression was akin to a child who had finally found the constellation they had been looking for in the vast array of stars in the night sky. If Leo was Izumi's sun, then Izumi was Leo's star. A constant waypoint to home. No matter how lost Leo got, as long as he had Izumi, he would be okay.

Leo grinned when he noticed the way Izumi was staring back at him, "Wahahaha~ I got you Sena! Now I'm gonna write aaaall the songs about a strange alien girl who comes to kiss you in the middle of the night just for you ♪"

Izumi felt the embarrassment rush back to his face, and began to lecture the other teen once again. As long as they were able to stay like this, then maybe everything would be just fine.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This work covers a lot of firsts for me (first fic on AO3, first Enstars fic, as well as the first fic I’ve finished in a long while), so sorry if the writing is a little rusty/the characters are a little OOC! I tried my very best to portray two of my favourite characters to the best of my abilities, and I hope that I did decently!
> 
> I’m a little nervous to post this, because AO3 is full of wonderful writers but I’ll see it through to the end - I’ve already written it and that’s half the battle. I haven’t checked it for typos or anything either so if parts don’t make sense I apologise! I’ll fix them eventually. Nontheless, I hope you enjoyed!
> 
> I gifted it to a very good friend of mine who I love a lot! I hope they read this and know they are the one that gave me courage to stick it on AO3. <3


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